Seeking wisdom • Finding folly • Loving it all

7 Things People Say When They Find Out You Have a Tattoo

Did it hurt?
This is the one all non-inked people ask. Like they actually don’t know if a needle inserted into your skin a million times a minute might cause discomfort. In response, I say, “No, it tickled.” I’ve no idea how many buy it, but if there’s a sudden increase in people getting tattoos and screaming out, “I thought it would tickle!” that’s why.

What’s it of?
I usually say mine is a skull with a snake slithering out of the mouth. So far no one has believed me. Most have laughed. I find this disheartening.

Is it somewhere I can see?
Now we get to the heart of the matter. They’re really hoping it’s on your buttocks. Mine is on my back. This seems to disappoint them.

Do you have any others?
They’re seriously hoping you have one on your buttocks. Just lie and say you do. It”ll make them happy.

You don’t seem like the type who’d have a tattoo.
I hear this all the time. I’m not sure what it means. I’m thinking I should wear more leather.

Wow. I see you in a whole new light now.
Again, no idea what this means. Maybe I should quit my job, buy a Harley and take to the open road. Honestly, I had no idea how much a little design on my back would change my life. (Sounds like a good premise for a novel.)

Why did you do it?
I think they’re hoping for a story of drunken revelry and morning regret. Either that or a mid-life crisis. When I tell them mine is covering a large scar, they seem a little relieved. Because now they’re able to put me back in the tidy little box where they once placed me.

Maybe I should get a skull tattooed on my buttocks, just to shake them up a bit.
What do you think?

It’s rather liberating, in an odd way.
I have a friend who’s getting one just above her bum that will say “made in Japan.” She was born in the U.S. but conceived in Japan. (I only know this because she asked for the name of the woman who did mine.) She said she’s going to put it low enough that it can’t be seen most of the time, but I told her to reconsider. My only regret is that mine isn’t more visible.

I have been asked #1, #3, and #4 the most. Mine is a skull with crossbones and two roses on either side of head. Some frown upon it, but when I tell them what it means (the roses mean my parents that passed in 2006 and 2012), they appear like they feel bad that they judged me…but that is just the vibe I get from the,

My problem is I always tell the truth. For example-
“Does child birth hurt?”
“Hell yeah, I didn’t know you could go through so much pain and NOT DIE!” (This was said to a woman pregnant with her first child)

“Did your tattoos hurt?”
“Imagine red hot needles being repeated pushed under your skin…”
“Oh…”
“And then multiply it by the highest number IN THE WORLD!”

Cool tat btw. Although you don’t seem like the type who’d have a tattoo. 😉

I equate getting a tattoo with being whipped by a needle cactus a thousand times a thousand times infinity. In other words, not my cup of tea. Though, if I did get a tattoo, a nice cup of tea would be considered. That or a blue lotus. Location would be dictated by what area of the body feels the least pain. Can you tattoo hair?

I will confess, I am a non-inked person and I am guilty of asking #1. Simply because I would like to get a tattoo at some point and I want to hear how people describe the pain so I have some idea of what to expect. Of course, all the answers terrify me, which is why I still haven’t gotten one.

Also, I think if you really want to shake people up, you should get a pair of buttocks tattooed on your skull. Think of the questions you’d get then. 😉

Skull tattoos send a powerful message, that is true!
Sometimes I think we should give a lot more leeway to the police in that regard — if they see a guy with a swastika tattooed on his skull, just arrest him. If he hasn’t committed a crime yet, he’s planning one.
By the way, pretty sure skull tattoos are the most painful!

I’ve seriously considered a tattoo many times, but the thing that always stops me is that I might make a choice that doesn’t hold up its emotional value over time. Case in point: Several years ago, I was THISCLOSE to getting one (as in, cash in hand and standing outside a shop in the “old school” section of Las Vegas) but when I announced to my companions, in their various states of sobriety, that I wanted to get a bar code on the back of my neck, their complete lack of enthusiasm gave me pause. So I didn’t. And I still haven’t…

I kept going back and forth for the longest while. I never keep a haircut for longer than a year, so how the heck can I decide on a tattoo?
Finally it occurred to me that I either commit to a tattoo or commit to the scar. If it wasn’t for the scar, I probably wouldn’t have gotten one.

I am fascinated, and then not, by them. Really good ones, with meaning and well done are interesting – many others I admit to wondering “WHY”. i am still thinking about it – but I keep worrying about saggy skin and fading – I so I wil probably jsut keep not getting a tattoo. My daughter and steppies have them, and they suit them, but I still prevaricate.

The decision to get your first one is soooo agonizing. Then afterwards it’s like, eh, whatev. I think that’s why a lot of people get their second, third, fourth… etc.
I saw an elderly woman in a store who was wearing a halter top (sorry for the visual, but it explains why I saw her tattoo). The tat covered her back and was of a woman riding a dragon. It was extremely faded, so I had to wonder how old she was when she got it and the amount of time it took to put it there! Mine was about an hour and a half, hers must have taken a week!

Yes, my stepdaughter has quite large ones all over her back and thighs – takes a long time and many sessions to finish them I believe. if I do get one it will be quite small (I have my own design in mind).

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Hi! I’m Christi. Observer of life in all its messy and glorious details. Whenever I find something interesting or just plain amusing, I share it here. So stick around! You might find something interesting too.

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